Clifford Hampton, chair, called the Senate to order and
gave introductory remarks.

Members were presented packages for the meeting which
contained an agenda, draft minutes from May 2005, a roster
of senators to date by department, and a listing of 2005/2006
officers and committee descriptions.

Hampton introduced the officers for 2005/2006, requested
introductions from members, and welcomed new members. He
also stressed the importance of participation in meetings
and the roles of senators. Hampton provided an overview
of the May 2005 minutes and requested action on the minutes. Mark
Shankle moved to accept the minutes, Harvey Gordon seconded.
May 2005 minutes were unanimously approved.

Hampton requested a volunteer to serve in the role of
Secretary. Sharon Grace volunteered.

Report from the Chair

Department/Unit Representation – The Chair updated
senators on representation of departments/units and referred
them to the attached roster. He noted that not all
departments/units have representatives, but the effort
to fill all representative slots is ongoing. He also
noted that several senators have communicated conflicts
with meeting times or dates due to their teaching schedules. Senators
with conflicts were asked to advise their department/unit
head so that other arrangements could be made.

The Chair presented an update to senators on action from
the May 2005 meeting. It was requested that a letter
commending the former chair, Dr. Hudson, and his assistant,
Ms. Odom be sent to Drs. Turner and Watson. The letters
were compiled and sent. Two recommendations
were sent forward in May; Promotion and Tenure timelines
for the division and faculty evaluation standards. The
division utilized the promotion and tenure timelines to
assist faculty by providing additional time to prepare
their documents. The division leadership is seeking
to also have this issue addressed by the Holland Faculty
Senate. The status of the draft evaluation
standards is not known, due mainly to other pressing issues
facing the division.

Hampton advised senators that an invitation was extended
to Dr. Watson, Vice President, DAFVM to meet with the senators
today and he accepted pending his schedule. Additionally,
Hampton advised senators of two draft documents from the
Holland Senate, Instructor’s, and Non-Tenured personnel
documents that they should read. Dan Poston served
on an ad-hoc committee for the non-tenured personnel document
and made several comments. Plans are to email the
documents to the division senate.

Vice Chair Report

Vice Chairman Steve Nichols informed senators of the need
to provide him with their expiration date, noting that
each senator serves a term of three years unless they fill
an unexpired term. He acknowledged that this would
allow officers to keep track of anticipated turnover on
the senate. Additionally, Nichols referred senators
to the attachment with the list of senate committees and
provided an overview of each of them. He requested
senators to submit to him their top three committees.

He informed senators that each should serve on at least
one committee. In making committee assignments, the chair
will need to ensure that all committees and chairs have
representation from all major departments/units.

Unfinished Business

Secretary as officer – Hampton provided an overview
of an approved action from the May meeting to add the position
of secretary as an officer. This action was assigned
to the bylaws committee to meet over the summer and present
recommendations back to the senate. Neither of the
two existing bylaws committee members was present to make
the report. Hampton noted that it was his understanding
that the bylaws give the ability to appoint a secretary,
but if the position is to be an officer a vote of the general
faculty must be taken. The bylaws committee will
need to study the bylaws to ensure bylaws will need to
be amended, work up a proposal for voting if necessary,
and define responsibilities for the position. Harvey
Gordon motioned to expedite the process of adding the position
of secretary to the senate, Joe Fratesi seconded. It
was noted that the position would be filled from among
the membership. The senate unanimously approved the
motion.

New Business

Holland Faculty Senate Representative – Hampton
informed senators that at the present time, the division
does not have a senator who is a member of Holland Senate. According
to his understanding of the bylaws, a member who serves
on the Holland Senate will be appointed by the chair to
provide updates to the division on Holland Senate issues. Since
no one is serving on Holland Senate, Hampton requested
a volunteer to attend Holland Senate open meetings to provide
the division senate updates. Laurie Grace volunteered
to attend Holland Senate’s meetings, pending scheduling.

Members discussed the need to amend the bylaws to give
the chair the ability to appoint a non Holland Senate representative
if no division senator serves on Holland Senate. Senators
were requested to carefully read the bylaws to ensure we
have the authority to appoint a non-member to serve on
the Holland Senate without amending the bylaws. Discussion
was tabled until next meeting.

Other Issues

Hurricane Katrina – Laurie Grace expressed concern
for students who have been home to the coast and are very
stressed and upset. She also gave an update on the
impact of the storm on MSU forestry personnel and need
for further assessment of timber damage. Gordon reported
that 4-H has launched a relief effort directed toward shelters
and is sending letters of encouragement to 4-H members
affected by the storm. Bill Evans also gave a report on
hurricane relief efforts.

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